There he sits, lonely at the bar, his fully tattooed arms and cowboy hat behind a bottle of beer and a pack of cigarettes. Inside the cover, Joshua Hedley stands outside smoking for a moment. This American singer, songwriter and fiddler knows how to look like a red-blooded American honkytonk artist. An ordinary guy with a love of no-nonsense country & western, with lyrics about the ups and downs of
… everyday (American) life, sometimes festively doused in whiskey and other times weighed down by the Old Heartbroke Blues. Nothing new sounds in Hedley's songs, which are imbued with a love of old heroes like Hank Williams and Jim Reeves. Yet Hedley manages to convince again with his second album. He masters his country to perfection and evokes nothing but sympathy with his timelessly ordinary storytelling. (MR)more
